Omnimorphs
by Tobias Mason Park
Summary: You've heard the story of the Animorphs, and their battle against the mighty Yeerk Empire. But you haven't heard the story of Darren and his friends, and the night they met a strange young man with a secret; he's from the future...
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

My name is Darren. I guess you're probably wondering what my last name is…Well, you're just going to have to live with one name, because I can't tell you my surname, on the grounds that it will expose me and my friends to the greatest threat on the planet, the Yeerks. And telling you my last name could put my family in danger: my parents, my cousin, my dog…pretty much everyone and anyone close to me. So, for now, know a few things: my name is Darren, and the planet is undergoing a secret alien invasion. And not for the first time either…

This is where my story gets very complicated, very convoluted, and very fast. You see, the Yeerks have already made an attempt at enslaving the human race. And, you know what? They almost succeeded, too. Had it not been for the Animorphs—some five or six kids who were given access to alien technology that allowed them to become actual animals—the Yeerks would have taken the planet in less than a year. They had already enslaved the entire Hork-Bajir race—their home planet is under the complete control of the Yeerk Empire. And the Taxxons have willingly given themselves over to the enemy, just for a few scraps of meat—can you believe it? And it's not too difficult either, not for the Yeerks.

The Yeerks are not much to look at in their natural forms: just your basic grey-green slug. They're not much bigger than two inches, and about as threatening than a wad of chewing gum. But once they get to your brain, that's when you should be scared. Once a Yeerk slithers through your ear canal and wraps its putrid little form around the center of your very being, it takes over your life. You lose everything—your body, your freedom…You can't eat, speak, or sneeze, but the Yeerk can. And you just become a passive observer; trapped in your own body. And nobody can even tell the difference, because the Yeerks have access to the memories of their hosts. They're able look into your past and memorize every action, every perverted little habit. They can see the things that we hide; the very secrets that we're too afraid to speak aloud. Those tiny miniscule, almost insignificant aspects of our essence are like an open book to the Yeerks. They will taunt you, insult you and make you scream for mercy. Nobody, apart from the Yeerk in your skull, can hear your screams for freedom. Only after three days, when your Yeerk is feeding in the Yeerk Pool—with the other vile little slugs—are you free to breath, to speak…to just be free. But you can't enjoy it, because you're stuck in a cramped little cell with a dozen other people; the ones they call, Controllers. Yea…those are the Yeerks.

And here's the most ridiculous part of this story: the invasion—this apparent threat to the human race—won't be made public for another five years. Right now, the Yeerks are trying to keep their little invasion a secret, so they don't have many hosts…yet. The Animorphs won't meet Elfangor—the Andalite who gave them the power to morph into other animals—for another two years. Of course, I realize how absurd this all sounds. I'm not entirely sure I understand the whole situation myself. Aaron has only told us a few of the more important details, but I'm pretty sure he's hiding a whole universe of information from me and my friends.

That's the guy who got me into this whole mess; some kid my age named Aaron. Yea, I can't tell you his last name either. Aaron doesn't have a last name. You see, Aaron was born in a lab located in the States; the product of one of the most powerful and successful corporations on the entire planet. Aaron is really a composition of D.N.A taken from some of the strongest and most intelligent people in the world—people Aaron (as well as most of the population, apparently) call "the Elite." Oh but that's not the craziest part of this story either.

Aaron is from the future…

By now, you would have walked away from me, shaking your head, thinking, "somebody just hopped off the crazy train"—which is more than understandable. Like I said, I realize how odd this all seems: kids from the future, evil aliens bent on the enslavement of the human race, test tube warriors from the year 2085…Oh, did I mention that Aaron is a military trained solider, in addition to be a licenced time-traveller? No…well, I guess I have some more things to clear up, before I start talking about me and my friends, and the night we all met Aaron.

Alright, just to review: the Yeerks are mind-stealing aliens attempting to enslave all of humanity. The Animorphs are the only ones able to stop them, and they do so by morphing into all sorts of animals—a gift from an Andalite named Elfangor. The invasion remained a secret for the better part of three years, before the Yeerks made their presence known. Within a few short weeks, and at the cost of a great many lives, the Animorphs defeated the Yeerks and saved the world.

Now, naturally the human race changed after the Yeerks were defeated. Mankind was now in contact with extraterrestrials. We allowed the Andalites access to our planet in exchange for a specific piece of their technology. Entire colonies of Hork-Bajir were established clear across the planet. And the Taxxons…well, it's a little difficult to explain the Taxxons. And, in the hopes of bettering the relationship between the humans and the Andalites, and to improve the now obsolete technology of the Homo sapiens, the Andalites started working with the humans on a few secret projects. Within mere decades we had mastered cloning, Zero-Space travel, and advanced weaponry. Within fifty years, Eden's Garden was devised, and project Adam was put to work. And within a century, we mastered time travel. And that is where Aaron comes in.


	2. Chapter 1

**One**

It was a Friday night, ironically enough, and it was not one to be spent indoors. The summer was nearing an end, and a group of friends and I were planning a camping trip up north. At the time, I was about to head over to Valentina Burkhart's place, to go over some of the details. If we could persuade Jack's older brother Steve to drive us in his van, then we could leave sometime early Sunday morning. If not, then we would have to put our trip on hold for a week. That would give us one week of camping, and another week to relax before school started up for the fall. Jack spent the first few weeks of the summer in bed, after catching the chicken pox from his younger cousin Mitch—which is ironic, since Jack was only babysitting the brat to earn enough money for the trip. Val spent most of July in Europe, and came back with a dazzling tan; which only made her look more beautiful than she already was—or am I just exaggerating? And the rest of us were busy with work or family gatherings to ever really get together and hang out, so we were determined to have this one camping trip. Two solid months of planning, over fifty phone calls were made—some of them long distant calls, just to keep in touch with Val—and we all had to find some way to work around our work schedules.

I had just left the house when my cousin Sal pulled into the driveway. Her real name was Sally, but I can't remember ever once calling her Sally; to me, she's always been cousin Sal. The fact that Sal was even female was a concept I had only just begun to understand when I turned thirteen. Sal lives in New York City, but was accepted into a University close to where I lived, so she was living with her "favourite auntie Becky and Uncle Prescott." We get along pretty well, but she still won't agree to drive me and my buddies up north for the week. So much for favourite relatives…

Sal noticed me walking out and smiled from inside my mother's beat up Toyota.

"Do you need a lift, cuz?" she asked from behind the half-open window.

I stopped and feigned a look of surprise. "Oh, now you're volunteering to drive me around?" I asked, a few feet from the rusted automobile.

"I'd drive you around the entire city if you wanted," she said, turning serious all of a sudden. I guess she wasn't aware that I was joking. I couldn't blame her. I made a big deal about it the other night…

"I know, I know," I mumbled, feeling bad all of a sudden.

"Really Dare, I would," she assured me. "But there's no way I'm driving six hours across the country just so you and your little friends can pitch a few tents and roast some stale marshmallows."

"Yea, I was kidding." I said, perhaps too loudly. I have a tendency to overreact. "It's only a few blocks to Val's place. Besides, I wouldn't want to be a bother."

Just for good measure, and to make sure that she was sure that I was only joking, I smiled and waved her off.

Val really did only live a few blocks away from my place; maybe just a few minutes away from our high school. We lived in the city, but were a lot further away from down town than most districts. Again, I can't give you many personal details, lest I put anyone I care about in jeopardy. Just know that I don't live in a small town like those characters you read about in books. That's something that always bothered me about novels of any genre: the main characters always lived in a small town with a ridiculous name. I lived in what you would call a district. If you want more of an explanation than that—perhaps a detailed description of the streets that lead to Val's house, or even Val's place itself—then too bad. The houses all look different from each other, and I'm sure that you could care less about how Mrs. Pottersby's roses shook from the rush of wind that is to be expected on a late summer's night.

So there I was, minding my own business and walking to my friend's house. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular. It was a summer night, so I wanted to relax my brain. But, I guess if you're really interested, I was thinking a little about Valentina. I won't lie. I have a major thing for Valentine Burkhart. I would even go as far to say that I'm in love with her. I mean, we've been friends since freshman year, and graduation was a lot closer than we were willing to admit. I've known Jack Morrison for much longer—going on ten years now—and I'm just as close to him as I am to Val…I can't explain it. I also won't go into much detail about trivial things, like how I stay up late at night thinking about her, and how I see her face whenever I close my eyes. Some things are best left private, and I think that's where most narrators go wrong when they tell a story; they give up too many of their secrets. Let's face it; you never know who's listening to your thoughts when you spill them out to the world.

I cut through the football field of a middle school across from my high school, just like I did on any other night I chose to see Val. I've taken that route a million times over the last two years or so, and I have never once—not once 730 days—have I ever witnessed some kid getting the crap kicked out of him. And these guys were really giving it to him! I could see the bruises forming on his face from ten feet away. This poor kid didn't even stand a chance, either; not against two broad-shouldered foot-ball types—only, instead of playing with a football, they played with his head! I knew these guys: Brett Fischer and Ronnie Black. I also knew the guy they were beating up, but only vaguely—his name was either Larry or Lucas, but I can't be sure. Well, whoever he was, Fischer and Black were really giving him a pounding.

I'm ashamed to say that I hesitated before helping Larry, or Lucas. It bothered me, seeing a good kid like Larry or Lucas getting beaten up, especially by such cruel thugs like Black and Fischer. But it wasn't any of my business. I've never bothered either one of these goons…then again, I doubt this poor kid ever said more than a word to them. I did walk up to Brett and Ronnie eventually, but only after I turned my back on Lucas or Larry and started walking a few feet more to Val's place.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I said, walking over to where the white kids were beating up Lucas or Larry.

"Just having a bit of fun, man," Fischer said, grinning up at me. He let Lucas or Larry fall to the floor.

"I think he's had enough," I said. "Look, he can't stand up, and both of his eyes are swollen. Just step off, and sober up, alright?"

"What's it to you?" Black asked, poking me in my ribcage. "Do you even know the kid?"

"Not…personally, no." I mumbled. "But…come on, you're killing him!"

"Just run along, boy scout," Fischer laughed, grabbing the pathetic looking kid by the collar of his jacket. I think Black thought Fischer was being really witty, because he was howling with laughter at the Boy Scout remark. Meanwhile, I did something that I wouldn't advise: I pushed a very large, very dim-witted punk.


	3. Chapter 2

**Two**

"Shouldn't have done that," Black said, grabbing me from behind while his buddy got up off the ground. The kid lying by Black's sneakers moaned pathetically. I struggled to break free from Black's grip, but to no avail.

"Hey, meat head!" A girl shouted from somewhere behind me. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Everybody, except for the kid rolling on the field grass in pain, turned to look at this new speaker; a girl, of all people! Surely these guys wouldn't stoop that low; they wouldn't touch a girl.

"Well, well," Fischer said, smiling. "Looks like we got us some jailbait, Ronnie."

I didn't like that smile one bit. It looked like something you would see on a cartoon villain, like the Grinch; something ugly that resembled a jagged scar on a person's face, and not a facial expression that is typically used to show happiness. But what I saw in Fischer's eyes was much worse. I was suddenly worried for this girl. I found myself wishing that she would just go away. And I got the feeling that Fischer wasn't interested in me and the kid lying down on the grass; not when he had something more appealing just a foot away…

"Come on, Fish," I said, struggling in Black's arms. "She's just a kid."

"You'd better shut up, Darren." Ronnie warned me. "You don't want to end up like Larry over here."

I could have sworn I heard Larry say something, but his voice was strained from the beating he had just received.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Fischer asked, walking up to the girl.

"It's Madison." She replied. "And that's all you need to know."

"This girl has an attitude, Fish," Black laughed. "You'd better watch out."

"You'd better leave them alone," she said firmly. "You don't want to do anything you may regret later."

"Oh what, this?" Fisher asked, gesturing towards Larry and me. "That's just harmless fun. It's no big deal."

"It looks like a big deal to me," Madison said, stepping forward to examine Larry.

"What's it to you, girlie?" Fischer asked, slightly annoyed. "Like I said, we were just having a bit of fun with Larry."

"His name is Lucas." She snapped. "What the hell did you do to him…he's bleeding!"

"He's alive, isn't he?" Black said. "Look, he's breathing."

"And it's a good thing he is," she said, turning on the two punks furiously. "You could have killed him!"

"There's a lot of anger in you, eh?" Fischer said, returning to his usual coy tone. "I like a girl who can stick up for herself."

"Come on, Fish." I pleaded, still trying to get away from Black. "She's like five years younger than you."

But Brett Fischer just turned to me, wearing that hideous smile of his, and said, "A girl's a girl, man."

And I started screaming by that point. I didn't know these guys too well, but I didn't think that they would actually resort to forcing themselves on some random girl. Madison looked like she had only just reached her freshman year. Fischer and Black were repeating their fourth year, and they were a lot bigger than anyone of us. I knew that there were disgusting people out there, but I never dreamed that someone I went to school with was capable of something like that!

Fischer started walking around Madison, smiling like a cartoon villain. He had a look in his eye that could only be described as hunger, and his right hand seemed to twitch a bit. But Madison showed no fear. She just stood there, completely ignoring the potential threat that was circling around her petite form. She was staring at Lucas; the pathetic, bleeding mass that he was. I had to admit, she was very pretty. She couldn't have been more than 5'5. I guessed that, had we been standing face to face with one another—and not in the clutches of two scary punks—she would only just reach my chest. Her eyes were a nice shade of green, and her hair was black. To a senior, she was just another pretty face. But had I been a ninth grader, I would have thought she was stunning.

I didn't know whether to admire Madison for her bravery—the way she stood completely still as Fischer walked around in a circle—or scream at her. Was she stupid, or brave? Was there a difference?

"Why are you interested in this runt anyways?" Fischer asked, looking down at Lucas. "What does he have that Ronnie and I don't?"

"He has decency." Madison said, looking into Fischer's eyes for the first time. "And he has a lot more going for him than either of you two."

"And what about Darren?" Fischer said, still very amused by this Madison. "Do you need to stick up for him as well?"

"Why don't you just go home?" I snapped. "She isn't impressed, alright? Why don't you just go home, Fish?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut it?" Fischer snarled. "Or am I going to have to shut you up?"

Before I could come up with a snappy comeback, I heard more voices; loud voices! From what I could tell, there were probably two of them—a boy and a girl—but for all I knew there could have been others; it was far too dark to tell. I didn't care how many of them there were. I just hoped that one of them was an adult; someone that Fischer and Black wouldn't want asking questions. The voices just got louder as their owners came closer to where the group of us were standing. Black shifted his feet a bit, while Fischer was starting to get visibly nervous; more witnesses.


	4. Chapter 3

**Three**

I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the best eye sight. I mean, I usually have to squint if I want to look at the board in school, and I find that the words get a bit blurry when I'm reading sometimes. I don't think it's too bad, though my parents think I should wear glasses. But that's not the point. The point is that I couldn't see a damn thing in the dark, let alone during the day. So you can hardly blame me for not knowing who exactly Fischer was talking to while Black was handling me like he would a dog that was about to be neutered. So, really, all I saw were three muddled silhouettes in the dark. They sort of looked like those ink blots that a psychiatrist shows you; just black ink that makes up an image that you can only just make out. I couldn't tell you if they were all male, all female, or some mix of both just then. For all I knew, they were friends of Fischer's and Black's. So I thought, _great, that's all we need: more Neanderthals_.

But there are two things that you should know about me: I have great hearing, and I have one excellent memory. Seriously, I can remember things from when I was five like they happened the other day. And when I meet someone, I'll remember their face and name for the next time I see them. So I knew exactly who was speaking to Fischer right then, despite the fact that the two of us were never really close. He spoke calmly, casually. His voice was soft, but authoritative.

"What's going on here, Brett?" he asked, stepping out from the shadows.

"Nothing that concerns you, _Derek_." Fischer mumbled. "We're just having a bit of fun."

Derek took one look at Lucas, who was still rolling around on the ground in pain, and raised an eyebrow.

"I think it would be better if you just left, Brett." Derek suggested. And, in a low voice, he added, "We both know that you can't risk getting into trouble again; especially not after what happened the last time."

I had no idea what Derek was talking about, but I couldn't care less. Whatever Derek knew about Fischer must have been pretty bad, because the kid was shaking in his leather boots. I guess Fischer was trying to make it look like he wasn't afraid, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it. You can't exactly pull off the tough, apathetic look when you're shaking visibly.

"You going to call your daddy on me, then?" Fischer sneered.

Derek shrugged. "If you leave right now it won't have to come to that."

For the longest while, Fischer just stared at Derek. I think Fischer was trying to put a lot into the stare, like he was trying to frighten Derek. But Derek wasn't some lanky kid with the balls to stand up to someone like Fischer. Derek was just as tall as Fischer, and he could have weighed about the same as well. I wouldn't say that he was muscular, but he wasn't puny either. The best way to describe Derek would be burly. But something tells me that Fischer wasn't afraid of Derek because of his size. There must have been something else to their relationship.

"Whatever, man. I've got better things to do anyways." Fischer snorted. He turned to Black and shook his head. "My uncle has some booze in the basement. Let's head over there before he sobers up."

Black seemed to agree that spending the night in Fischer's basement drinking sounded like a lot more fun than beating on a bunch of kids, so he let me go. And, when I say _he let me go_, I really mean _he pushed me face first into the dirt like a sack of dirt_.

But Fischer made sure to leave us with some words of wisdom before disappearing into the darkness with Ronnie Black.

"We'll see you on Monday, Luke!"

"He won't do anything, don't worry." Derek assured me. "Fischer can't risk getting in trouble with the cops. He's already on probation. Black got into some trouble for beating on a freshman on school grounds, but he was let off with a warning. If Brett even lays a hand on anyone and I get word of it, Fischer will be taking a trip down town in less than ten seconds flat."

And that's when it hit me! That explained why Fischer was so nervous when Derek was telling him to back off.

"We'd better get him to a hospital." One of the other bystanders said, suddenly coming into view. She was petite, shorter than Madison. She had straight black hair and tanned skin, which gave me the impression that she may have been Pilipino, or maybe Vietnamese. I knew this girl too; her name was Emily. I've definitely seen her around school, but we didn't share any classes together. She was a year or two younger than I was, and lived a few blocks away from my house. I only knew her because she lived next door to my friend Jack.

The other witness was a girl as well. Her named was Arden, and we shared a few classes together this semester. I had a crush on her for a while, but her attitude completely turned me off. Arden was that loud girl who's always raising her hand in class whenever the teacher asks a question. She's into a lot of clubs at school, is incredibly pretty, and has turned down more guys than I can count.

"The nearest hospital is a good thirty minutes away." Arden said, leaning over to examine Lucas. "We could take him to a clinic."

"Would they be open at this time?" Emily asked. "I thought walk-in clinics closed after dark?"

"The buses are still running. We could take the 10 north." I suggested.

"That's a great idea, Darren. Do you have any money for the six of us to ride the bus?" Arden asked. She could be so freaking condescending sometimes.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion." I mumbled.

"Does anyone know where this kid lives?" Derek asked. "I don't recognize him from school."

"His name is Lucas." Madison said, with a slight edge to her voice. "And he lives with me."

"Is he your brother or something?" I asked.

"No, my dad rents out rooms." She said. "Lucas and his mom have been living with us for a few months. He's new in town."

"Well then, you can take us there." Derek said. "Darren and I will carry him."

"We will?" I asked.

"Did you have somewhere else to be?" He asked. But he wasn't rude about it like Arden was. He was asking a genuine question.

Thing is, I would have looked like a jerk if I said, "Yea, I was actually going over to a friend's house to plan a camping trip." So, instead, I said, "I guess not. Help me lift him up."

And I swear, the second we grabbed onto the kid, the whole world went crazy! The sky lit up with these amazing lights; gold and silver—sort of like the aurora borealis. And, somehow, the ground started shaking, and the air around me started to get really thick and really hot. Derek and I dropped Lucas accidentally and the kid started moaning in pain. And that's when alarms started to go off: loud, whirring noises that sounded like those sirens they used for bomb threats during the fifties. It was deafening! I couldn't believe that no one was running to the football field to check it out.

But it only got more bizarre, if that was even possible.

Out of nowhere appeared a hole. It was a gaping hole of emptiness, like the kind you see in outer space; a black hole. And from somewhere inside this hole came the last thing I'd expect, something that I thought only existed in stories.

We saw a spaceship…


	5. Chapter 4

**Four **

For the longest time, for what felt like maybe twenty minutes, nobody said a thing. The six of us just…stood, and we stared at the landing spaceship. And that's exactly what it was, too; a spaceship! A real live flipping spaceship landing about thirty feet away from us! A very large, metallic looking spaceship, painted a rust-nail red, with two h_eadlights _placed in the center. I can't exactly describe the shape to you. I mean, I could make a comparison to something that could be found on earth, but that wouldn't suffice. I mean, it was an _alien _spaceship; something completely and totally out of this world! It's not something that looked like a school bus, or a flying saucer. I guess I could say that it was shaped like a snake's head—you know the sort of diamond shape of the reptile's head? That's sort of what it was; a snake's head.

Two bright lights shone down at us, blinding us and forcing us all to shield our eyes. That seemed like a very human thing to do. I was reminded of those TV shows where the cops corner the crook with a few police cruisers and blind him with their headlights. Anyways, the ship sort of sat there, thirty feet away, without doing…anything, really. Once our eyes got used to the lights we all continued to stare at it; marvelling in the weirdness of it all.

"You guys see that too, right?" Derek asked suddenly.

"The huge metal thing?" Madison said, nodding. "Yea, I see it too."

"I am so glad one of you guys said something," I said, attempting a laugh. "For a minute there, I thought I forgot to take my meds again."

Nobody really thought I was very funny, so we just sat in silence, waiting for whoever was in the spaceship to show themselves. Derek just stood there, looking calm and composed like he always did. I was standing next to him, just a head shorter; not so calm, and not so composed, but trying very hard not to show that I was practically wetting myself in front of the girls. Arden looked like she was afraid at first, but relaxed significantly once she noticed that the ship wasn't doing anything. Madison and Emily were sort of kneeling next to each other, while Lucas just lay there on the grass. Miraculously, Lucas managed to keep himself quiet the entire time. Maybe he passed out?

"So…should we try communicating with it?" I asked, hoping to sound somewhat intelligent.

Arden shot me a look and asked, "And how do you suppose we do that?"

"We could try waving our hands in the air." I suggested. "We could say something like, 'We come in peace!'"

"Are you volunteering?" Arden shot back. I was getting the impression that she didn't like me, for whatever reason.

"I'll do it." Derek said, stepping forward. I was glad he did. I was worried that, if I had stepped forward, the people in the spaceship would see me as a threat and vaporize me or something.

So Derek pushed his 6'0 foot tall body forward in his usual calm manner. He raised his hands up slowly and said, in an equally calm voice, "We come in peace!"

And that's when I started to think,_ why are we telling the aliens we're coming in peace? I mean, they're the ones who landed on our planet._ I decided not to tell Derek that, though. It would be a shame if they vaporized him for no reason.

"Um…can you hear me?" Derek said. "We're not going to hurt you. Can you come out?"

There was no answer. The aliens aboard the ship showed no sign that they had heard him at all.

"Maybe they're deaf?" Emily suggested.

"They can invent spacecraft's but they can't build hearing aids?" Arden replied.

"Hey, Einstein was a genius, but he failed English." I proposed. Arden just ignored me, like I was the oxygen in front of her face.

There was a whooshing sound.

We all jumped. The doors to the spacecraft—two semi-circles placed in between the _headlights_ of the ship—and a small platform folded out onto the ground. There wasn't a blinding light, like in the sci-fi films. It was kind of anti-climactic, really. I expected a big light show, but it was all kind of dull. Everything about the whole situation—apart from the fact that a spaceship had actually landed a few feet away from us—was kind of lame. After you looked at the ship long enough, you start to notice that it really wasn't very big. I mean, it's the biggest vehicle I have seen, but the props they use on Star Trek were far more impressive. There was no light show, no loud noises, no smoke or anything like in the movies. All we got was a corroded old space ship. And the person standing inside wasn't impressive, either.

He looked like your basic pretty boy. He was tall—roughly the same height as Derek. He had really broad shoulders that made his outfit look skin tight. His clothes were kind of lame too; just a blend of black leather from head to toe. I guess he was handsome, but I'm not exactly one to comment on another guy's appearance. I couldn't tell you what colour his eyes were—he was too far away at the time—but I could see that he was blonde.

"That's the alien?" I whispered to Arden. "Not exactly E.T, is he?"

"You watch way too many movies." Arden said, rolling her eyes.

"What, you thought that aliens actually looked like us? You think they speak English, and go to school, and stand in line at the DMV?"

"Do not be frightened." The alien said. Arden shot me a triumphant look.

He stepped out from his spaceship and walked towards Derek like they had seen each other in the mall or something.

Derek looked at the alien, giving him that look that girls usually give a guy when they're interested—you know when they look at the guy from head to toe, like they were x-raying them or something?

"You are confused by my appearance." The alien said. It wasn't a question, so much as an obvious statement.

"Kind of…" Derek said, grinning. "We weren't expecting…well, we didn't think you'd look human."

"What did you expect a human to look like?" the alien—who may not actually have been an alien—asked.

"You're a human?" I said. "That's impossible. We don't have spaceships like that on this planet…Unless the government is hiding something from us…"

Then, the alien shot me a look. He looked amused, like I told him a funny joke. For some reason, seeing him smile was unnatural, it was like it was forced, or something. Like, you know how people smile with their eyes as well as their mouth? Well, this guy's smile never reached the eyes. It looked…animatronic.

"Or maybe you're a robot." I said, quickly. "That's it, isn't it? You're an android or something?"

"No. I have already established that I am a human." The alien said. "I am like you, in many respects."

"Sorry, but we don't have spaceships." I said, looking at my fellow humans. "Arden here might be from Venus, or something, but the rest of us don't have anything like that."

"Of course you don't." the alien nodded. "Humans won't develop any form of state craft for another two decades."

"Wait a minute…" Madison said. "That means…"

"Yes, I am no alien." The alien interrupted. "I am from the future."


	6. Chapter 5

**Five**

We all sort of stared at our mystery man from space. He had just told us that he was from the future. And I guess, considering the fact that he just walked out of a freaking spaceship, it could have been plausible. But, for some reason, it just sounded odd. I actually think I would have believed him if he said he was an alien.

"You're from the future?" I repeated, with a slight laugh. "Are you serious? You're not an alien, or an android…or something else?"

The boy from the future looked at me like he was confused. "You find the possibility of extraterrestrials landing on your planet more likely than time travel?"

"Well…yea, kind of…" I mumbled, lamely.

The spaceman/future boy smiled his unnatural smile again and said, "Good, because aliens have landed on Earth. In fact, they're amongst you right now."

"What do you mean?" Madison asked. "Wouldn't someone notice aliens walking around?"

"Unless they're imitating us somehow." Emily said, wisely. "Like in Men in Black, or Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

"You are correct in many ways, I'm afraid." The spaceman/future boy said, grimly.

"We're being invaded?" Derek asked. "How long has this been going on?"

"The Yeerks landed on Earth not too long ago—perhaps twenty years. They are not incredibly powerful at the present time, but they command thousands of human hosts."

"Excuse me, Yeerks?" Arden repeated. "What's a Yeerk?"

"You're not taking this clown seriously, are you?" I snorted.

"He has a spaceship, Darren." Arden snapped. "Obviously he's telling the truth."

"Oh come on." I said. "This is obviously a hoax."

"The Yeerks are not a hoax. And I am not a clown." The spaceman said. "My name is Aaron. I am one of the thousands of soldiers created by a corporation known in my time as _Eden's Garden_. I was created over a hundred years from now, and the plight of Earth's technological progression."

"Did you just say _created_?" I sneered. "Like what, in a lab?"

"Yes, that's precisely where I was created." Aaron said. "_Eden's Garden _specializes in cloning and biological engineering. For fifty years they have been creating life; mixing the DNA of all sorts of individuals—past and present—to create a whole new race of man."

"Sounds to me like this Gardens place is making a whole bunch of Nazis." I mumbled.

Aaron shot me a really superior look, like I completely missed the point of his little speech. "No, you misunderstand." He said. "In my time, any individual—or individuals—is able to pick and choose what their offspring look like, if they have the financial funds to do so. Unfortunately," Aaron sighed. "Due to recent events, _Eden's Garden _has dedicated its time to creating soldiers, and not citizens…"

"You're talking about the Yeerks." Derek said, catching on. "These aliens…these Yeerks—they're the reason this company is making soldiers?"

Aaron nodded grimly. "Yes…but it is much more complex than that."

Aaron turned away from us and walked back into his ship.

"Let's get out of here, this guy's nuts." I said, hurriedly. "Let's just take Lucas home and forget this night ever happened."

"Sounds to me like you're scared." Arden said.

"No…I think we should take Lucas home." Madison said. "He's not looking too good."

"Exactly!" I said. "We need to worry about Lucas—he's a mess!"

"Well, this Aaron guy says he's from the future, maybe he knows away to fix him." Arden suggested.

"He's coming back." Emily announced. Her voice was just louder than a whisper. "He's holding something…"

"If that's a gun or something, I'm leaving." I said. "Just so we're all clear…"

I guess Aaron overheard what I said, because he said, "This is a Holographic Image Emitter; pretty standard issue where I come from. It can project any image in its database, but it is also capable of communicating with others…so long as you're in the same time period…"

Aaron placed his thumb on the base of the Emitter. Suddenly, floating about ten feet above our heads, an image appeared. It looked oddly like a slug; greenish-gray, no longer than two inches. It didn't look as though it had eyes, or ears for that matter, so I had to assume that this creature was blind and deaf. It did have a pair of antennae, placed on top of what looked like its head. On each side of the slug was a sort of skin flap that reminded me of a dolphin's fin, only smaller.

"The creature you see before you is called a Yeerk." Aaron said, standing beneath the floating image. "It is not from any planet in this solar system, though it's within our galaxy. In their natural states, the Yeerks are harmless. They cannot see, they cannot hear. They communicate through echolocation, which means—"

"It means they use sonar for sight and sound." I interrupted. I didn't like the way Aaron spoke to us, like we were all just a bunch of kids who had to have every little thing explained to us. "They use sonar to paint a picture, so they know what's around them. They're just like bats."

Aaron nodded. "The Yeerk home planet is rather dense. It holds just a few hundred creatures, including the Yeerks. Throughout the planet, pools are scattered. The Yeerks live in these pools and absorb the nutrients provided by their sun, the Kandrona. A Yeerk can only live three days without the nutrients of the Kandrona. Without these Kandrona rays, the Yeerk will die.

Aaron pressed the base of the Emitter again, and the image above our heads changed; but only slightly.

We were still looking at the fat Yeerk, but it was smaller now, and it was moving. It was waving its fat little flaps in the air, pushing its body through what looked like an ear.

"What you're looking at right now is the Yeerks way of enslaving a host." Aaron explained. "The Yeerks may not be a threat in their own bodies, but should they reach the brain of another creature…well, they're much more dangerous. They crawl through the ear canal towards the brain. Once they reach that vital organ, the Yeerk takes over the individual's entire body. And the host loses his freewill."

We all responded to this in a similar way, really. I guess we were all pretty disgusted by what we were seeing. And our disgust only grew once the image changed again. But we weren't looking at the Yeerk anymore. Now we were looking at three oddly coloured monkeys. They had shaggy blue-grey fur, and mismatched legs. Their hands—or paws, or whatever—looked webbed, like it was capable of swimming. It even had the same stupid look monkeys have.

"This is a Gedd." Aaron said. "They are native to the Yeerk home planet. They are the natural hosts to the Yeerks—capable of small tasks, but barely sentiment. For centuries, the Yeerks and the Gedds lived together, forming a symbiotic relationship. And, for centuries, the Yeerks were content…Then, the Andalites came…"

We were now looking at the strangest creatures in existence. They looked like they could have been deer, except their upper halves were humanoid, and their fur was blue. Really, they were space centaurs. But their heads were oddly shaped—which is saying a lot! I mean, they had two normal eyes, right? But they had an extra pair on these stalks on top of their heads. And their noses…well, it wasn't anything remotely human. They also lacked a mouth, which begged the question of how these Andalites communicated with each other. The coolest and possibly most dangerous thing about these creatures had to be the tail—long, powerful-looking, and ending in a blade that looked like a scythe.

"The Andalites are a race of intellectual superiors. Their technology is rivalled only by a handful of other races—one of them being the now extinct Pemalites. A group of Andalites arrived on the Yeerk home planet, led by a warrior named Seerow. Seerow felt sorry for the Yeerks and provided them with the technology that would allow them to accomplish space travel. He taught them how to right their language phonetically. And the Yeerks repaid Seerow by betraying the Andalites."

We watched as the three Gedds shot the Andalites dead with these weird ray guns. The hologram looked so real, I could practically feel the heat of the rays that killed the Andalites. The image changed again; this time revealing a spaceship flying away from a rather dull looking planet.

"The Yeerks killed a handful of Andalites. Seerow didn't think the Yeerks would betray them. Seerow was greatly mistaken. Because of Seerow's kindness, the Yeerks stole an Andalite spacecraft and left their home world…But not before recruiting a few hundred of their own. And ever since then, the Yeerks have been spreading throughout the galaxy, landing on various planets and taking its inhabitants as their hosts."

Aaron changed the image again, though I really wished he wouldn't. I saw images of about a dozen different aliens—some reptilian, some amphibious, some…some just putrid in appearance. And all of them were taken by the Yeerks. And Aaron showed us battles; he showed those few races who tried and failed to resist the Yeerks and their stolen host bodies. Those who didn't want to be taken alive…well, let's just say they didn't make it.

"The Yeerks enslaved the entire Hork-Bajir race. They formed an alliance with the ravenous Taxxons. They conquered the Mak, the Sstram, the Nahara, and planned an invasion on a planet called Leera. Their next major conquest was Earth; they wanted to enslave the human race."

Next, Aaron showed us the faces of children. That's exactly what they were—five children, no older than thirteen years old. There were three boys and two girls—innocent looking. These five faces were joined by another, alien face; an Andalite face.

"The faces that you're looking at right now are the ones who saved the Earth from the Invasion." Aaron said, with what sounded like pride. "The five humans were approached by an Andalite named Elfangor, who provided them with the means of defeating the Yeerks. These five humans—later joined by Elfangor's brother, Aximili—were able to morph; to transform into any animal they came into contact with. For three years, the ones known as the Animorphs fought the Yeerks in secret…and they won."

"But…they're only kids…" I whispered.

"Yes. They were children, and they had no business being in a war. But that is what history tells us."

"Wait a minute…" Arden said. "If you're from the future, and these kids defeated the Yeerks, then we don't have anything to worry about, right? I mean…they win. We're golden."

Aaron smiled sadly. "The Animorphs defeat the Yeerks. Unfortunately that does not mean that the Yeerks have remained in defeat."

The image changed once again, showing a city.

"Humanity prospered after the Yeerk war ended. The humans discovered Zero-Space travel, and came into contact with the Andalites. At first, their relationship was limited to a simple exchange—the morphing technology would be given to the humans and the Andalites would be allowed to make trips to Earth."

"Why would they come here?" Derek wondered. "I thought they were more advanced then us?"

"Cinnamon buns." Aaron said, simply.

"Wait…what?"

"However, the humans started working with the Andalites on secret projects. They were soon able to create life by the union of DNA from any individual they desired. They also developed a new fleet of state craft. And, within fifty years, they mastered time travel."

Aaron pressed his thumb on the Holographic Image Emitter and the hologram floating above our heads faded.

"The humans and the Andalites created a prototype of the first time ship and embarked on a mission to the dawn of man. The mission itself took ten years to complete, but it was progress. Within another few years, time travel had been perfected and used by the military and scientific community of both races.

"However, word of the discovery of actual time travel spread throughout the galaxy, and many races were demanding that the humans and the Andalites share the secret. Both the humans and the Andalites decided that it would be within everyone's best interest to keep the secrets of time travel to themselves. Unfortunately, they didn't take into consideration the possibility that the Yeerks might get word of the accomplishments made on Earth.

"Some years after the Yeerks were defeated on Earth, a small group of renegades stole a powerful ship of the Yeerk Empire. That ship—what the Empire called the Bladeship—escaped into the deep realms of space, never to be seen again. A small number of the Animorphs attempted to follow the Bladeship, but they themselves disappeared. It was rumoured that those renegade Yeerks encountered a powerful entity that called itself _the One_. It was said that the Yeerks were promised a new species of hosts if they swore allegiance to the One. For decades we believed this to only be a rumour. But then, the Yeerks struck…

Just over a year ago—in my time period—the Earth and Andalite governments devised a new kind of time ship. They called these ships the _Ellimi Fleet_. The military planned on taking its new soldiers on a mission through various time periods, in hopes of observing some of history's most famous battles—Marathon, Trafalgar, Waterloo, Normandy—as well as analysis of strategy. The mission was put on hold. There was an unexpected attack.

"The Yeerks were defeated. We hadn't heard any news of retaliation for decades. All the Yeerk ports on other worlds throughout the galaxy were slowly dissipated. So, naturally, we assumed that we'd never hear from the Yeerks ever again. Like I say, we thought the possibilities of the Yeerks meeting a powerful entity in space was a rumour. Then, the Yeerks returned to Earth, and they came with over a dozen new ships that we had never seen before…They weren't Bug Fighters, or even a Bladeship…They were different; far more powerful…

"But we were confident that we could handle the situation. We had far more numbers, and a larger fleet. So, the UN ordered the National Fleet to chase the Yeerks into orbit. Five Yeerk ships were destroyed—at the cost of two of our own—and the Andalites had their own fleet waiting in orbit. We got arrogant. We thought they Yeerks were done for…

"But Yeerks are not stupid. The attack was a distraction that the humans and the Andalites were too arrogant to foresee. We allowed past victories to blind us. And, because of our arrogance, the Yeerks simply walked away with a single ship of the _Ellimi Fleet_. We practically gave the Yeerks access to Time Travel…"

"How did they know where to find the fleet?" Derek asked. "If they were away from Earth for fifty years, or whatever, then they shouldn't have known the location…right?"

"We do not know where the Yeerks received their information." Aaron sighed. "We suspect they heard rumours somewhere on another planet, from another race. We also believe that we may have spies within the military—former voluntary human controllers."

"Didn't you have anyone guarding these ships?" I asked.

"Of course we did." Aaron replied, somewhat indignantly. "But they were humans, armed with Andalite shredders. They weren't expecting Yeerks to show up at the White House…"

"You hid the time machines in the White House?" I practically screamed.

"The _Ellimi Fleet _was hidden over a hundred feet beneath the White House, as agreed upon by the UN. Other nations have a small number of these ships at their disposal, but the majority is being kept in the United States. The President was not present at the time. He was supposed to announce the Military's mission through time in public, but the Yeerks invaded. Meanwhile, the Yeerks acquired Human DNA and gained access into the White House…Every person stationed there was slaughtered…The Yeerks only stole one ship…"

"These Yeerks could morph?" Arden asked.

"The renegades that took the Bladeship after the war had access to morphing powers…There was an incident…An Animorph gave the Yeerks the morphing technology…"

"So what now?" Madison asked. "If the Yeerks have access to a time machine, they can be anywhere. They could travel back in time and change the course of the war."

"Luckily for us, each time ship is built with a homing device. No matter what time period the Yeerks travel to, we will be able to locate them. The only problem is that a single time ship can travel to any given date at a remarkable rate…We could travel to the start of the invasion, only to discover that the Yeerks moved to another point. I thought I managed to track them to this point in time, but it seems as though I am mistaken." Then, Aaron paused. He thought for a moment and asked, "What is the date?"

Derek told Aaron the Year, the month and the date. Aaron's eyes widened with what looked to be anger, but it could have been anything from fear or annoyance. I'm not great at reading other people, especially not people from the future.

"If you are correct, then I have missed my desired location."

"Well…how far is far?" Arden asked.

"The Animorphs will not exist for another three years." Aaron said, sullenly. "This means that I have arrived at a point in time where the Yeerks are at their strongest."

"We could help you." Derek offered. "We may not be much, but we know people. We could contact the government. We could spread the word."

"No, you must do nothing." Aaron snapped. "Any interaction with the past will have devastating effects on the future. If you spread the word, it may prevent the Animorphs from meeting Elfangor."

"So why spring all that information on us?" I demanded. "Why tell us about the invasion if you don't want us to do anything about it? Did you just expect us to go back to our ordinary lives like nothing happened?"

Aaron smiled a little. "Actually, that's exactly what I believed." He walked back to his ship and disappeared from view. I expected him to just fly away right then, but the ship didn't move an inch.

"I don't care what this guy says," I told the others. "I'm telling as many people as I can. If these Yeerks are real, then we're all in a lot of trouble."

Aaron popped into view, holding something new. I could tell that this wasn't a Holographic Image Emitter. This was clearly a weapon.

"You think you can get away with killing us?" I snorted. "People will know we're missing."

"You insult me with such an assumption." Aaron retorted. "I am no murderer. I am a soldier, not a Yeerk. No…I will simply erase your memories. You will have no recollection of the last several hours. I have gotten my information. I will continue to pursue the renegade Yeerks."

And, without the slightest warning, he pulled the trigger.


	7. Chapter 6

Six

My name is Darren and the strangest thing happened to me this morning.

For some reason, I was under the impression that it was Friday, but it was actually Saturday. Sure, that might happen to some people, but I've never done it. I mean, I've confused the days of the week before, but that was only during the school year, and you can't exactly blame me, right? Especially when you're in high school and the days all seem to blend together. But I've never, not once in my entire life, woke up on a Saturday morning thinking that it was Friday.

And yet, there I was, bushy eyed and tired, not looking forward to the day of work that awaited me. See, I am one of many employees at the local grocers. I work the noon shifts Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the night shift on Saturday. I never used to work so many hours, but since the summer, all I ever seem to do is stack shelves and deal with stupid customers, who are always complaining about produce. I mean, honestly, just because I'm a grocer, it doesn't mean I know about ripened fruits. So you can't blame me for being a bit grumpy when I woke up that morning, thinking that I had to go to work in a couple of hours.

So I got ready. It's not exactly worth noting, really. My morning routine is usually composed of showering, and changing into whatever I had that wasn't dirty or stained. I was moving rather slowly, too, as I was still mostly asleep. I'm not exactly what you'd call an early riser. It's not that I hate my job or anything, it's just...it's a grocery store. It's not as exciting as you'd think. I do my job well, but that doesn't mean I like doing it. You just can't get very far with a few dollars in your wallet; not at my age.

So I walked sluggishly down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. My dog was jumping around and wagging his tail. My dog got a kick out of seeing anyone, really. He loves attention. I don't remember a single time he has ever barked at a stranger. He was always spinning in a circle with his tail wagging. I gave him a quick rub on the head before heading into the kitchen for a quick bite. And imagine my surprise when I saw my family sitting at the table for breakfast.

Why was I so surprised? Well, everyone's usually working during the week, even Sal. I guess it's safe for me to give you minor details about what my family does. My dad is an office manager for a small company in the city—I think they do something in paper, or plastic, or something like that—and my mom is a kindergarten teacher. Sal got a part time job at the mall to pay off her half of her tuition—as agreed upon by her parents. We're a pretty interesting bunch really: an office manager working a dead end job, an overly happy kindergarten teacher, a mall rat and a grocer. Meanwhile, I have friends whose parents are music producers and lawyers. I got a manager and a teacher for parents…

Anyways, the point is, they _should _have been working that morning. I mean, it was Friday. Usually I wake up to an empty house, and now my parents and my cousin were eating waffles at the table, making small talk?

My dad looked up at me and said, "Morning there. You're up early."

"Yea…I have to work in a few hours…" I said, confused. "Why is everyone home? Did you all just happen to get the same day off?"

And they all threw me this look; like I was the biggest moron on the planet. They were all squinty eyes and raised eyebrows.

"You realize that it's the weekend, right?" Sal asked, grinning.

"But…it's Friday." I said, shaking my head. "I mean…yea, it is. Isn't it?"

"I cannot believe you forgot it was Saturday." Sal laughed. "I mean, I've seen stuff like this before—on TV!"

Everyone seemed to think that my confusion was hilarious. Meanwhile I was trying really hard to grasp that it was really Saturday.

"That's weird…I swear it feels like it should be Friday." I insisted.

"Don't beat yourself up, sport." My dad said. "Sit down and have some waffles. You're probably over worked or stressed."

"Overworked?" Sal snorted. "He's a grocer. It's the summer. What's there to be stressed about?"

I slumped down on the stool in between my mother and Sal. Are kitchen has one of those islands that functions as a table. We have a dining room table, but that's only for really special occasions, like Christmas, or Easter, or at family gatherings. My family was all eating and laughing and talking about what happened at work _yesterday_, while I sat there, staring down at my waffles, thinking about how _yesterday _should technically be _today_. I tried really hard to think about what I did yesterday morning. I started backtracking.

_Alright, it was a Friday morning—yesterday, apparently—so you would have taken a shower, got dressed and ate a bowl of cereal…But you did most of that this morning…Just think…What did I do yesterday morning, and why can't I remember? Friday…Friday…I have work at noon on Fridays…Did I go to work yesterday? Yea…yea, I did. I remember that much because Jack asked if I could cover his shift that night…I told him I couldn't because I had to do something…What was I do…Watching the neighbours kids! I promised my neighbour that I'd watch her kids for a few hours while she worked a double shift…_

I was stumped after that. I remembered work and watching the neighbour kids, but I couldn't for the life of me remember anything that happened after work. I might have gone home afterwards—it seemed like something I would do—but I couldn't be sure…

"Darren, are you listening?"

"Yea…" I mumbled. "Wait, what?"

My dad laughed. "Still out of it, eh? Listen, your mom and I are going downtown to the mall. We need you to pick up a few groceries for us while we're out."

"Why can't Sal do it?" I asked.

"Because I'm taking a tour of the university this afternoon." Sal said. "I'm going to be out all afternoon. I probably won't be back until nine tonight."

"It's not that big of a deal," my mother said. "You're working tonight anyway; you may as well pick up a few things while you're at it."

"Fine." I said, biting into a piece of waffle. "What are you two love birds doing downtown anyway?"

"Your mother wants to look at furniture." My dad said, with mock enthusiasm. "Lucky for me."

"Actually, your father was the one who suggested it." My mother smiled.

"Yea, it was my suggestion." My dad rolled his eyes. "You said there was a knick in the dresser. I said, 'Oh, maybe we should think about replacing it.' And that minor thought turns into a thirty minute drive to some warehouse in the city."

They went on like that for a while before they got dressed to leave for the mall. Sal hung around for a couple of hours, but she spent most of her time looking up courses on her laptop. Apparently, I had about five hours before I had to go to work, so I had nothing to do. By the time Sal left for her little tour, I had watched two movies and made a sandwich. And do you know what I did after all that excitement? I vacuumed the house.

I was supposed to clean the house anyways. My parents are big on chores, but they want me to help out from time to time. It's no big deal, really. I'm actually really anal when it comes to cleaning, to be perfectly honest. I'm not some sort of freak who needs to have every single thing in the exact same place it had been previously, but I hate to see a messy room. I don't know why, but it bothers me. Anyways, vacuuming the house only took about an hour of my time, so I still had a lot of time to kill.

"I guess that means I'll have to get the groceries." I mumbled. "Maybe I can figure out what the hell happened last night in the meantime."

So I walked to the grocery store. All the while I was struggling to remember what happened the previous night. By this point I was quite certain about what happened Friday morning. In fact, I remembered it all quite clearly. But the hours between work and sleep were blurred. I vaguely recall walking out of the grocery store, but I couldn't remember where I was going, how I was doing, or how, exactly, I got home last night. And it was really starting to bug me.

I walked into the grocery store, like I had done a billion times since I started working there last fall. It wasn't the biggest store. In fact, there was a much larger supermarket closer to the mall. But it was a decent place. I walked up to where they kept the grocery karts and headed to the cereal aisle. And guess who was standing there, stacking the shelves like some lowly stock boy? None other than my assistant manager, Wayne. He was doing the job that I would have been doing, had it been Friday, and not Saturday.

"Well if it isn't one of my lovely employees," Wayne said, placing a box of Cheerio's on the shelf with the other dozens of boxes of the same brand. "What are you doing here, Darren? You don't have to work until six."

"Yea, well you know me," I said, cheerfully. "I am the perfect employee."

"You're hardly a perfect employee." Wayne snorted. "Not that you have much competition…"

I guess I should take some time to explain the mystery that is Wayne. Wayne is three years out of high school, lives in a cramped apartment a few blocks away, and works as the assistant manager at the local grocers. You see, most people work at a supermarket part time to pay for college, or just to scrape together some money to go out. Wayne loves his job, and I mean _loves _it. His biggest goal is to become a regional manager; as if that's a huge accomplishment. He's a perfectionist, and that's the nice way of putting it. He's always giving me lip about how you can only stack certain brands together—you know, cheerio's with cheerio's, frosted flakes with frosted flakes, yadda yadda yadda. And he never laughs at any of my jokes, which gives me the impression that he doesn't like me very much. Funny enough, Wayne wasn't the assistant manager when I got hired.

"Well that's one person's opinion." I said, grabbing a box of bran for Sal. "I'm surprised I haven't been named employee of the month by now."

Wayne turned to me and gave me a look. You know the one; it was that _I'm-a-very-busy-man-and-have-no-time-for-any-funny-business _look. He gives that look a lot, really.

"I don't have time for your jokes, Darren." He mumbled. "We're under staff as it is. These shelves won't stack themselves."

"Hey, I'm just here buying cereal. You're the one who started talking to me." I said, raising my hands. I was just about to turn to leave when a thought struck me. "Say, Wayne, did I come to work last night?"

"I'm really busy right now, Darren." Wayne said, sternly. "I don't have time to chat about whether Captain Crunch could beat the Tricks rabbit in a wrestling match, or whatever."

"I'm not joking around. For some reason I'm a bit fuzzy on the details of what happened last night." I said, seriously.

"Yea, you came to work." He said, rolling his eyes. "You were late, too."

"But I came to work." I said. "That's good…Do you know where I went afterwards?"

"No, because the personal lives of my subordinate is none of my business." Wayne said, waspishly.

"Well did I mention anything to you about where I was going after work?" I pressed. "Or did I talk to anyone last night?"

Wayne sighed. "You're not going to leave me alone unless I answer, are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine, whatever. I saw you talking to Bart just before closing—but don't ask, because I have no idea what you were talking about."

"Bart…great. Is he working today?"

"Yea, actually. He's one of the few people who showed up. Apparently, everyone else is _sick_." Wayne laughed, as if the thought of a few workers catching a cold was completely absurd. Later, I found out that one of those employees caught the measles, while the other two really did have colds. Only one guy was skipping work that day, a guy I know named Derek.

"Great—thanks for the help, Wayne." I said, moving my kart passed Wayne and down the aisle. "And, by the way," I said, shouting over my shoulder. "The tricks rabbit would _totally _kick Captain Crunch's ass in any fight, anywhere. All he needs to do is catch those kids."

Later, I found Bart working the register. I had to wait behind three very large women—obviously mothers—before I could ask Bart if he remembered what I said to him the other night. It would really be a kick in the ass if I waited all that time just to find out that I told him a joke.

"Hey, Darren. You're not working today?" Bart asked, handling my groceries.

"I got the night shift." I told him, taking out my wallet and waiting for him to finish up."

"Lucky bastard," Bart laughed. "You won't have to deal with Wayne tonight."

"Yea, but I won't get off until closing, so it's a small victory." I replied. "Say, Bart, do you remember if I said anything to you last night?"

"Well, you were telling me some joke about a woman from Helsinki—"

"Anything else?" I asked, quickly. "Did I tell you if I was doing anything after work?"

Bart thought for a moment. "You said you were going to a Valentina's house, I think."

"Are you sure I said Valentina?"

"Well you talk about her enough," Bart said, grinning. "So, I'm pretty sure you said Valentina."

"Alright, great…Thanks, Bart." I said, excitedly; having finally found a lead to a night that I couldn't remember. "Say, who do you think would win in a wrestling match Captain Crunch, or the Trick's Rabbit?"

"Definitely Captain Crunch," Bart answered. "The guy has a ship. And besides, the Tricks Rabbit can't even catch a few kids with a bowl of cereal. How is he supposed to win a fight?"

**By the way, just because I'm curious, who do **_**you **_**think would win in a fight—Captain Crunch, or the Tricks Rabbit?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Seven**

So there I was, walking home with an armful of groceries. My parents didn't tell me to pick up much, but they did ask for milk, eggs, a jug of juice and cereal—all of those really heavy grocery items that tend to rip the plastic bags. So a walk that would have taken me about ten minutes took twice as much time. I mean, I had to walk very carefully; practically tip-toeing my way to my front door. There was someone waiting on my doorstep: a tall girl with very light and shiny brown hair, wearing a pair of tight black fitted jeans and a pink halter top. Valentina Burkhart hadn't noticed me coming up behind her.

"Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to help me?" I said, grinning.

"Oh you're hilarious." She said, whipping her head at me. "Where were you last night?"

"You mean, I didn't go to your place?" I asked, dumfounded. Bart had just told me that mentioned going to Val's house last night.

"No, you didn't." she said, hands on hips. "I waited around for about an hour before I tried calling you, but your parents said you went out. So where were you?"

"I have no clue." I said, shrugging. "I woke up this morning in my bed, but I couldn't remember what I did last night, or how I got home."

Val relaxed a bit. I guess she thought I ditched her for someone else, which I thought was unlikely. I have never once ditched Val because I had something better to do. In fact, I try to find excuses to see her more often than I already do.

"You can't remember anything?" she asked.

I shook my head. "All I remember is leaving the store after work. I came home and I was supposed to watch my neighbour's kids, but she didn't go to work. I left the house and…nothing."

"Alright…that's weird…"

"Sorry that I was MIA last night." I said, putting down a bag and grabbing for my keys. I unlocked the door and let Val into the house. We were greeted by my dog, Devlin. "Dev, calm down—leave Val alone…So what's up?"

Val shrugged and took a seat on one of our leather couches. "Well I came by to see what was up with you, but apparently, you can't remember…So, I was thinking we should head to the mall."

I feigned a look of annoyance. "Really, you want to go to the mall _again_? Why don't they just give you the keys to the place?"

"Hey, you owe me." Val said, grinning. "I was sitting all by my lonesome in my room, with nothing to do. Can you imagine how hurt I was?" She pretended to be upset and folded her arms. She even made this really cute pouty face, it was great!

"I am so sorry, Ms. Valentina Burkhart." I cried, falling to my knees. "Will you ever forgive me for my utter ass-holery?"

Val pretended to think about it for a second, and then nodded. "I will…but only if you agree to shop with me and carry my bags."

"Yes, oh beautiful Valentina. I am the dirt beneath your feet; the dust that you find underneath your bed; the—"

"Don't try to suck up to me, Mr." Val said, pulling herself to her feet and walking towards the front door. "It's going to take a lot to make it up to me."

What can I say, I turn to putty when Val's around; so sue me! So I followed her around the mall all afternoon and I carried her bags, big deal? Does that make me her lap dog? Does that make me some lost puppy that does tricks for his master all day and expects to get a treat? No…it makes me a good friend. Val and I are close friends; that's it. Sure, I wish that we could be closer, but it's just not going to happen. So I try to hang out with her as much as I can. If that means walking around with her while she shops, big deal. If I have to watch her cry over some guy that broke her heart then that's what I'll do. You can say whatever you want about our relationship—that I'm Val's bitch, or whatever—but I could hardly care less. Because, you see, I'm the guy walking around with the gorgeous brunette in the mall. I'm the one that makes you think, _what are those two doing together? Are they dating? _I'm the guy that makes all the other guys jealous, because I get to be with her…Even if our relationship is completely, totally and utterly platonic…

"Alright, I'm going to try these on," Val said, grabbing a few tops and skirts. "I'll be back in a few minutes, and you can tell me what you think."

"Make it fast," I mumbled, pretending to be annoyed, like I had somewhere else to be—which I didn't.

Val winked and walked off to the women's change room. I waited until after she disappeared to fall back into one of those couches that some of the more "hip" clothing stores have. You know the ones—the stores like Abercrombie and Fitch, with their dark interior, good looking salesmen and saleswomen, and those stage lights? This place was going for that underground, teenaged club sort of look; with stage lights and leather couches, and things like that. It was actually one of the best shops in the mall, really. Though, I've never been one to shop for designer labels. And, as I sat there on the most comfortable couch on the planet, I started looking around the store. There were all sorts of guys, all of them following these really attractive girls around, like me. Some of them were guys from my school—you know, freshman and sophomores trying to get into some girls pants by following them around all day, unlike me… I recognized a lot of them, too—Bradley Baker, from home room; David Shepherd, some new kid who moved here from somewhere in the states; and another kids whose name escaped me…I think it was Larry, or Lucas…

"Wait a minute…" I said, getting to my feet.

I don't know what it was, really. I just looked at the kid and I got this weird feeling, like I had seen him before. I mean, I have seen him before, in the halls at school, but…I don't know how to explain it. It's sort of like how you sometimes think you've already done something once before, like in another life or something. I took one look at Larry or Lucas and thought, _something big happened with this kid…Something really big… _So I walked over to him.

"Hey…" I tapped Lucas or Larry on the shoulder. He turned around and looked at me with this really blank expression. "We know each other…right?"

"Yea, we go to the same school." He said, somewhat snappishly. He looked pretty annoyed. Maybe I should leave him alone…

"Yea…I've seen you around." I said, lamely. "Look…I don't know how to explain this, but—"

"Alright, we can go; they don't have anything I like…" a girl said, walking up to Lucas.

She was about 5'5 in height; she barely reached my chest, and was not quite as tall as Larry or Lucas. She had black hair and a pair of pretty green eyes. I didn't think she was incredibly beautiful or anything, but she was pretty. She was definitely younger than me, but had we been the same age, I would have asked her out.

"I know you…" I said to her. "We know each other…"

The girl looked up at me with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry…I don't think we do…Come on Lucas…"

"Yea we do…" I insisted, following the two of them out of the store. "I know the both of you from…somewhere…"

"I already told you, we go to the same school," Lucas snapped. "Now can you leave us alone?"

"Madison!" I shouted. "Your name is Madison!"

Madison looked a little nervous. "How do you know my name?"

"We know each other…" I insisted. "I can't remember…it had something to do with Lucas…Yea, something like that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Lucas said, shaking his head. "Just leave us alone, will you?"

"How'd you get the black eye?" I asked, curiously.

"What…this?" Lucas asked, touching his left eye. It looked as though he had been hit in the face. It wasn't anything serious, it looked mostly faded. But it was just noticeable. "It's nothing."

"Fischer and Black, do those names mean anything to you?" I shouted as the two of them walked away.

Madison stopped walking and turned to face me. "Brett Fischer?"

"How do you know Fischer?" Lucas asked.

"I don't…but it sort of feels like I do." She shook her head in frustration. "I've been feeling weird all day. It's like…like…"

"Like you can't remember the last few hours of your life?" I finished.

"Yea…I woke up this morning and I couldn't remember what I did the other night."

"What about you, Luke?" I asked. "Can you remember what you did last night?"

"Not really…" he mumbled. "But so what? Obviously I fell down, or something and hit my head."

"But you don't really believe that, right?" I insisted. "You know, deep down, that something really weird happened last night…And we're not the only ones. Whatever we were doing last night—whatever happened with the three of us—we weren't alone."

"Alright, you're nuts." Lucas said. "Come on, your dad probably wants us home by now."

"Madison," I said quickly. "Lucas lives with you, right?"

"This is getting really annoying!" Lucas snapped.

"Your dad runs some sort of Bed and Breakfast, right?" I asked, ignoring Lucas' comment.

Madison's eyes grew wide. "He rents out rooms."

I turned to Lucas. "How would I know that?"

"That's easy," He said. "You're obviously stalking her. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop now."

"I don't know, Lucas. He might have a point. I mean, you suddenly wake up with bruises all over your body. I know things that I shouldn't. And now Darren's asking all these questions…" she shook her head. "Something weird is going on here."

"Exactly!" I said. "All morning I've been trying to figure out what I did last night. I'm thinking that we can help each other out."

"You're both nuts." Lucas said, shaking his head, furiously.

"Well, you know what they say," I grinned. "Birds of a feather, share a nut house."


End file.
